Happy 50th Anniversary, EATA
By Deniz Güney
EATA Vice-President
50th Anniversary Coordinator
This special edition is one of several ways in which EATA’s 50th anniversary is being marked throughout 2026.
Throughout the year, each edition of the EATA Newsletter has focused on the anniversary, exploring different aspects of EATA’s history, development, and community. This special issue brings together personal memories, historical reflections, photographs, and contributions from across the EATA network. As a result, there will be no regular autumn edition of the newsletter this year.
The anniversary year has also seen the introduction of EATA’s renewed visual identity, including a new logo and corporate style, reflecting both the organisation’s heritage and its ongoing evolution.
On 15 July, members and friends of EATA gathered online for a special event marking the official anniversary of EATA’s foundation. The celebration offered an opportunity to reflect on five decades of growth, cooperation, professional development, and community.
Another anniversary initiative is a series of video interviews with former EATA Presidents. Through their recollections and reflections, these conversations offer valuable insights into different periods of EATA’s history. While many former Presidents were able to contribute, some are sadly no longer with us, making these recorded memories especially meaningful.
The stories collected in this publication are complemented by these interviews and by many informal acts of remembering, reconnecting, and celebrating taking place throughout the year within affiliated associations and the wider EATA community.
The year will conclude with the EATA Research Conference in Rome in December. Although the conference is not formally part of the 50th Anniversary programme, it provides a fitting opportunity for members to gather during this milestone year. Alongside its focus on research, learning, and professional exchange, EATA’s anniversary will no doubt be celebrated there as well.
As we mark fifty years of EATA, we celebrate not only the achievements of the past, but also the people, relationships, and shared vision that continue to shape our association and community today.
